Bill Conti Interview & “Rocky” Performance on Piano

Access Hollywood’s 1990’s era interview with “Rocky” composer Bill Conti about how he developed Rocky Balboa’s signature theme song and how the famous training montage of “Gonna Fly Now” came to be. The interview finishes with Conti’s beautiful live performance of “Gonna Fly Now” on the piano.

Bill Conti’s big break into films came in 1976 when he composed the score for United Artists’ “Rocky”. His “Gonna Fly Now” topped the Billboard music charts in 1977 and went on to earn an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song. Interestingly, that same year, Conti served as the musical director of the Academy Awards for the first time, and has gone on to direct the music of the Oscars many times since.